Parshat Shemot, 1:1-7 Stars or Insects? Shared responsibility means that each party carries 100% of that responsibility, not that each carries 50%.  So, when I suggest, as I do, that the Jewish nation was partly responsible for Egypt’s virulent anti-Semitism, that does not release the Egyptians from one iota of their responsibility. The Torah recounts a radical deterioration in the stature of the Jewish people in the first seven sentences of the Book of Shemot.  This deterioration began only after the passing on of Yaacov and his sons. The deterioration is clear from th..

How to unlock spiritual energy Recovering from a bout of flu (yes, I did get the shot,) I found myself asking for energy and thinking about it a lot. I thought of the different forms of energy, and how most of these different energy forms are encased in matter and need to be released. There is thermal energy in fuel, kinetic energy in movement, caloric energy in food, emotional energy in the human heart and spiritual energy in our souls and the souls of everything around us. I thought of the Nefesh Hachaim's understanding of the term for G-d,Ellokim, as the source of all energy..

Last evening I wrote a list of my incomplete tasks and projects. I wrote down everything I could think of that was awaiting decision, action, completion or abandonment. Stunned by the length of the list I understood why I was feeling so drained, overwhelmed, somewhat unfocused and generally miserable! Unresolved issues and incomplete projects clutter the mind and block our energy. I am sure you have felt the liberation of un-cluttering a space, whether a desk, a computer filing system, a room in the house or a closet. There is an ease, a lightness and a clarity that comes with a clean-out..

When we joyously participate in the tapestry of time and recognize it as our destiny, we ignite powerful flames of human energy in ourselves. The Tapestry of Time Permanent coupling for marriage, it seems, is not instinctual. While physical relationship between the sexes is instinctual, marriage is a value and not an instinct; it entails investment and requires mindful choice. Animals are instinctually wired to couple physiologically for the purpose of breeding. Animals, however, do not bond permanently in marriage to raise their offspring and provide lifelong companionship to one anothe..

Place-Spaces and Time-Spaces In Torah, you are an expert too My son, Moshe, has just completed a rich and growing period at the Yeshiva Gedolah in Johannesburg. More than any Yeshiva I know, it successfully blends a focus on midot and character mastery, balance (in both outlook and conduct), and crystal clear, laser straightgemarrah lomdus (science of Torah learning) and Yediat Hatorah(knowledge of the Torah). Credit for the Yeshiva’s greatness goes not only to its brilliant, humble, and noble founder, the late Rosh Yeshiva ztz”l and his sons ..

The Ring The quaint custom in so many cultures of giving a bride a ring has its origins in this week's parsha. The custom may appear quaint but in essence it is almost a commercial transaction. "Ha'isha Nikneit …be'kessef (a wife is acquired with cash)," says the Mishna at the beginning ofMassechet Kiddushin, the Gemarra that we are studying in the iAwaken teleconference Gemarra shiur every Sunday.[1] The ring is a piece of pure gold intended as an object of internationally tradable currency. What appears quaint could in fact be regarded a..

"The Power of Pride" I was the second speaker of the day. I walked up to the podium with a knot in my stomach. I was following immediately after Ian Thomas, an inspiring wildlife guide turned public speaker. His topic is  "The Power of the Pride," showing how lions use pride as a tool of leadership. Ian enthralls his audience, and after he finished they were in no mood to listen to me. The loud din eventually settled. In a quiet voice I asked the audience whether Ian had shown them how lions make each other proud and how they can make even baboons feel proud. They shook their head..

I wasn't planning to write this week. My whole family and I have been together in Israel for our youngest daughter's wedding. It has been a joyous time focused inwardly on family and on personal transformation, on the reshus hayachid (private domain) of life rather than on its reshus harrabim (public domain). But then I came across one of the most powerful and most valuable teachings in the Torah about transformation and about reshus hayachid andreshus harrabim that I felt a compelling need to share with you. The teaching is that ..